Nicholas was last seen playing basketball with his friends at a park near his home. His mother, Beverly Dollarhide, says he called her to pick him up, but Nicholas's older brother Jason answered the phone and told the boy to walk home instead. That was the last time anyone spoke to Nicholas.

Nicholas had a real tattoo, given to him with a sewing needle by a local boy.Odyssey Online

The boy was known as a "troubled child," and in the past he had run away from home, so his parents weren't surprised when he went "missing" for a few days. After all, Nicholas only had $5 in his pocket the night he disappeared, so where could he go?

But after searching for days, police found no sign of Nicholas. Jason claimed to see the boy sneaking around near their garage a few months later, but after that there were no sightings. Three years later, after giving up hope of finding Nicholas, the Dollarhide family received a surprising call.

Nicholas had been found in Spain, where he claimed to have been kidnapped and abused in a child sex ring. Nicholas's older sister Carey visited him in Spain and confirmed his identity, and soon he was back home in Texas.

Nicholas's family celebrated his return, and local news stations covered his miraculous recovery, but one detail about the young man convinced a San Antonio private investigator that he wasn't really Nicholas.